Slater & Gordon

A judge overseeing several cases against Optus over a September 2022 data breach has raised the possibility of hearing a class action against the telco alongside new proceedings brought by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

A judge has raised concerns about bids to declass group proceedings over alleged business interruption losses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the thousands of policyholders who registered for the class actions might reap more from the cases than making claims directly with their insurers.

A judge has thrown out a shareholder’s case against Slater & Gordon over the firm’s takeover by private equity firm Allegro, after finding the firm was not the proper target for the claims. 

The judge overseeing a consumer class action against wealth manager Colonial First State Investments has given the green light to a $100 million settlement, but questioned a $23.1 million cut to funder Augusta under a “strange” funding agreement.

The NSW government is seeking to strike out class action claims for exemplary damages, arguing allegations that police conducted strip searches at music festivals as a matter of routine “lack specificity at every level”. 

Two units of insurer IAG have been hit with a class action for allegedly misleading hundreds of thousands of home owners insurance customers about loyalty discounts.

Optus has lost its appeal of a decision that found the telco could not claim legal professional privilege over a Deloitte report into a major data breach, with an appeals court highlighting the lack of evidence from former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.

Equitable contribution by Western Power, Ventia and a property owner found jointly liable for the same loss resulting from the Parkerville bushfire in WA must be mathematically equal regardless of how the liability was apportioned, a judge has found.

A class action against ANZ and former subsidiary OnePath has been given the green light to “significantly expand” its case against the big four bank, over three years after the case was first filed.

Optus has denied that it ‘cloaked’ the true dominant purpose of a Deloitte report into a major data breach in 2022, arguing on appeal that the report was privileged and that a class action should not have access to it.